"He who observes the wind
will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds
will not reap.
As you do not know
what is the way of the wind,
Or how the bones grow
in the womb of her
who is with child,
So you do not know
the works of God
who makes everything.
In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening
do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know
which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike
will be good."
(Ecclesiastes 11:4-6)
It's easy to look around at our circumstances
and cease the labor that is ours.
The conditions don't look good.
The weather may not cooperate.
Maybe my seed will go to waste.
Maybe my harvest
will be ruined by a storm.
I may miscarry the child.
I don't know how God works.
But He does.
And He has placed me
in a specific place
with specific tasks.
My business is to do
what He's given me to do.
The conditions are His to govern.
The rain or the lack of it
is in His hands.
The wind is His to direct.
The growing of the seed
is His handiwork, not mine.
Mine is just to sow.
And it may be that the early seed
is not the one that grows.
But the seed thrown out
at evening might.
Perhaps the harvest
will come from both.
The one who plants
and the one who waters
aren't the ones to look to here --
but God who gives the increase.
We are to not grow weary
in well-doing.
Whatever the sky looks like
in your neighborhood,
put your hand to the work
He has for you.
In due time,
there will be a harvest.
"It pleased the Lord
to send us contrary winds."
(From George Whitefield's journal)
